8g. Memo
Bell Street Garage Guardrail Upgrade
COMMISSION AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item No. 8g ACTION ITEM Date of Meeting March 26, 2024 DATE: January 30, 2024 TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director FROM: Jennifer Maietta, Director, Real Estate Asset Management Susie Archuleta, Sr. Real Estate Manager Jessica Brown, Sr. Environmental Management Specialist Rod Jackson, Capital Project Manager SUBJECT: Bell St. Garage Guardrail Upgrade Design and Construction (CIP # C801406) Amount of this request: $4,553,000 Previously Authorized: $300,000 Total requested project cost: $4,853,000 ACTION REQUESTED Request Commission authorization for the Executive Director to advertise and execute a Public Works Building Engineering Systems (BES) Contract to replace the Bell St. Garage guardrail system in the central parking garage and bring railing system up to current code. This guardrail upgrade project has an estimated total project cost of $4,853,000. The amount requested under this authorization is $4,553,000 ($300,000 was previously authorized by the Economic Development Division). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On the weekend of September 23, 2023, a passenger vehicle drove through the Bell Street Central Parking Garage guardrail on the 5th Floor and fell 4.5 stories onto the BNSF train tracks below, impacting a slow-moving train before landing on the ground. Fortunately, the train broke the fall of the car, and the driver was able to walk away with minor injuries. Since then, it has been established that the guardrails of the central garage were designed and built per the code in place at the time. This project will retrofit or replace forty (40+) guardrail sections with a design that meets current commercial garage code. A third-party contractor will be selected for the Project to analyze, design, permit, and install the new guardrail utilizing the Building Engineering Systems (BES) method of procurement. Template revised January 10, 2019. COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 2 of 6 Meeting Date: March 26, 2024 JUSTIFICATION This Bell St. Garage Railing replacement project supports the Port’s Century Agenda objectives under the following strategies: (1) Safety improvements are primary for this project. (2) Advance this region as a leading tourism destination and business gateway. (3) Use the Port’s influence as an institution to promote women and minority business enterprise (WMBE) growth, small business growth and workforce development. Further, the project supports the following additional imperatives: A. Upgrade railings to comply with current code These upgrades will bring the central garage guardrails up to present commercial garage codes. B. Leverage Specialized Expertise Garage guardrail upgrade work completed alone is a specialty market and local availability of experienced contractors is limited. Further, public projects are perceived as more labor intensive and therefore less profitable. This makes early procurement imperative. C. Meet Contemporary User Experience Expectations The existing garage guardrail is now over 31 years old. In addition to improving safety, a guardrail upgrade will improve the look, feel and function of this system. D. Sustainability The project will explore the possibility of re-using the existing guardrails to reduce embodied carbon in construction. The Bell St. Garage provides parking for visitors and tenants to access the Pier 66 Cruise Terminal, Bell Harbor International Conference Center, offices, hotels and nearby restaurants, among other valuable amenities to the central waterfront. Replacement of the Bell St. central garage guardrail system—original to the garage—will not only replace or sustainably re-use the essential system but also modernize the system per code by improving the Bell St. Garage’s aesthetic appearance through design and color. Diversity in Contracting Project staff along with the Diversity in Contracting Department have set a woman and minority business enterprise (WMBE) aspirational goal of 12% for this project. Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 3 of 6 Meeting Date: March 26, 2024 DETAILS The Bell Street Garage is comprised of three sections, each built independently in different years as noted below: Location Year Built Central garage 1983 East garage 1998 North garage 2000 The guardrail system for each garage section is unique to only that section and is not consistent across all three garage sections. During the era when the central garage was being designed, commercial garage building code did not exist. It appears that the central garage guardrail was constructed as designed. The east and north garages were designed in eras where commercial garage building code did exist. Therefore, this project is focused on the central garage only and bringing that guardrail system into compliance with current commercial garage building code. The existing damaged partial height guardrail on the 5th floor of the central parking garage is located between two columns, which are spaced approximately 25’-6” on center. The guardrail is attached at the base to the concrete slab utilizing cast-in-place anchor plates, which met code at the time of its installation. Upon impact from the vehicle, the guardrail system broke away at the base. Damage observed is primarily limited to the guardrail attachment to the slab. The concrete slab does not appear to have sustained substantial structural damage/. The proposed Bell St. Central Garage Guardrail System upgrade will bring the railing up to current code. This project will be competitively procured as a Building Engineering Systems (BES) contract. In accordance with RCW 39.04.290, the Port may award contracts of any value for the design, fabrication, and installation of BES, by using a competitive bidding process or request for proposals process where bidders are required to provide final specifications and a bid price for the design, fabrication, and installation of building engineering systems, with final specifications being approved by the Port. This procurement strategy was chosen because a simplified and selfcontained turn-key solution is available, while labor and materials represent a large percentage of the project cost. Further, this provides opportunities for quality, efficiency, and risk reduction for the Port. Port staff will provide project administration and oversight. The project will replace critical guardrail components for the Bell Street central garage railing while scheduling to avoid cruise ship operational disruptions. Scope of Work The scope of work for this project includes, but is not limited to, the garage guardrail system improvements at the Bell St. Garage: (1) Evaluate existing Bell St. Garage guardrails in Central Garage only. (2) Contractor provided design services. (3) Salvaging or reusing guardrail components. Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 4 of 6 Meeting Date: March 26, 2024 (4) If possible, provide future low maintainability. (5) Propose and explore options for appealing aesthetics and appearances through materials and/or color. (6) Installation of new guardrail system. Schedule Activity Commission Design & Construction authorization March 26, 2024 Advertisement and Award May 2024 thru Sept 2024 Design Start Q4/2024 Construction Start Q1~Q4/2025 In-use date Q2/2026 Cost Breakdown This Request Total Project Design & Construction $3,869,000 $3,869,000 POS Soft Costs $684,000 $984,000 Total $4,553,000 $4,853,000 ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED Alternative 1 – Maintain Status Quo. With this alternative, the various existing parking garage guardrails may be insufficient to contain runaway vehicles at the Bell St. Central Garage. Cost Implications: $0 Pros: (1) Lowest capital cost option Cons: (1) Does not advance the environmental goals. (2) Does not address potential future accidents at the guardrail. (3) Does not address current code concerns. This is not the recommended alternative. Alternative 2 – Repair only the damaged guardrail section at the Bell St. central garage. Cost Implications: $96K Pros: (1) Replaces or retrofits only one damaged section of guardrail. (2) Damaged guardrail section can quickly be replaced or retrofit. (3) Lowest capital cost option: 1/40 the cost of the recommended alternative (4) Does advance the environmental goals at only this section of the guardrail. (5) Does address potential future accidents at only this section of the guardrail. (6) Does address current code updates at only this section of the guardrail. Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 5 of 6 Meeting Date: March 26, 2024 Cons: (1) Does not address future code updates at other areas of the central garage. (2) Does not advance the environmental goals at the other areas of the central garage. (3) Does not address potential future accidents at the other areas of the central garage. This is not the recommended alternative. Alternative 3 – Complete Central Bell St. Garage Guardrail Improvements at the perimeter of the parking garage to improve the safety of all garage users. This is consistent with the Port’s business strategy to “Position the Puget Sound region as a premier international logistics hub”. Cost Implications: $4.8M Pros: (1) Replaces or retrofits forty (40) sections of guardrail including connection to the structural system. (2) Advances the environmental goals at all sections of the guardrail. (3) Addresses potential future accidents at all sections of the guardrail. (4) Addresses current code updates at all sections of the guardrail. Cons: (1) Highest capital cost option. (2) Construction period is several months long. (3) Capital costs are forty times more than Alternative 2. This is the recommended alternative. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS Cost Estimate/Authorization Summary Capital Expense Total COST ESTIMATE Original estimate $4,853,000 $0 $4,853,000 AUTHORIZATION Previous authorizations $300,000 0 $300,000 Current request for authorization $4,553,000 0 $4,553,000 Total authorizations, including this request $4,853,000 0 $4,853,000 Remaining amount to be authorized $0 $0 $0 Annual Budget Status and Source of Funds This project was not included in the 2024 Plan of Finance. This project will be funded using EDD Reserve C800216. The updated current total project cost estimate is $4,853,000 and has been included in the draft 2025 Capital Plan. Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 6 of 6 Meeting Date: March 26, 2024 This project will be funded by the General Fund. Financial Analysis and Summary Project cost for analysis $4,853,000 Business Unit (BU) EDD Portfolio Management Effect on business performance Annual depreciation will increase by approximately $97K (NOI after depreciation) based on estimated 50-year service life, thereby reducing the NOI by the same amount. IRR/NPV (if relevant) NA CPE Impact NA Sustainable Evaluation Framework Summary: The Bell Street Central Garage guardrail upgrade project has been assigned a Tier 1 rating under the Sustainable Evaluation Framework (SEF), so does not require the full SEF process but does require some sustainability elements beyond typical Port design. Those elements are: (1) This project will endeavor to reduce embodied carbon by attempting to re-use existing guardrail in design. If this is not possible, the project team will procure environmentally preferred materials. (2) The project will support the community by improving the aesthetic appearance of the Bell Street Central Parking Garage through design and color. ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST (1) Presentation slides PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS None Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
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